


Melody buried in water

by Wesna



Series: AkaKuro Week 2018 [2]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: AkaKuro Week 2018, Angst, Character Death, Day 4 - Outcome | Balance | Connection, Forced Marriage, M/M, Slavic Mythology & Folklore - Freeform, What Have I Done
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-04-22 13:15:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14309457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wesna/pseuds/Wesna
Summary: All that was left of him was a portrait... A portrait and a song engraved on Akashi's mind and soul. His salvation and demise.





	Melody buried in water

**Author's Note:**

> Wesna_is_butchering_slavic_mythology__NO REGRETS
> 
> I'm sorry ~~(not really)~~ that I make those poor babies suffer so much.  
>  This one-shot is inspired by Slavic mythology, folklore and - mainly - by Slavic bestiary. I'll put a short explanation of what is going on in the End Notes. 
> 
>  
> 
> ~~I'm sorry for my grammar.~~
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy!

Quiet singing accompanied by the lyrical sounds of lute made a pleasant and calm background for thinking and reminiscing. It was so long since he last heard the instrument and the melody immediately took him on a ride to the past, right into the dim light of candles and a rather unpleasant smell of cheap but strong wine.

 

His wife hated that kind of music, preferring much more sophisticated sounds than the demotic clang of strings, but honestly, Akashi couldn’t care less. He still loved the pieces that were performed by the minstrels.

 

They were reminding Akashi of _him._ Of the man that stole his heart many years ago. The day Akashi decided to sneak out to the tavern was the best decision he had ever made. He found love, friends and happiness.

 

_He was the best you could ever have…_

 

Akashi looked at the portrait and his vision went blurry for a short moment when his heart clenched painfully. His fingers traced the image of a young man with short blue hair. Kuroko looked so lively here; the artist that made this piece of art grasped even the playful sparks in those beautiful eyes. It wasn’t a surprise though – Kise was a genius with his brushes and Akashi was proud of having the eccentric painter under his patronage.

 

Their friendship started because of Kuroko, a week after the fateful encounter at the tavern.

 

Kuroko was a minstrel, wandering from town to town and performing whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. A free spirit, acquainted with the best artists in the country; with those who weren’t blinded by the power of the golden coin.

 

Akashi met all of Kuroko’s friends: the reserved poet Midorima, sculptors Kagami and Aomine, actress Momoi and another minstrel – Takao. They all had something that Akashi craved since childhood – independence and freedom. Kuroko gave it to him, even if it lasted only for a moment…

 

_And you’ve left him without a word…_

 

Akashi Masaomi quickly arranged Seijuurou’s wedding with a girl from a noble house as a means of political alliance. Akashi’s wife wasn’t a bad person but the thought that he had to leave Kuroko for _her_ was turning him into an enraged monster.

 

Akashi felt sorry for her as he would never be her prince in shiny armor.

 

She was just a girl born and raised in riches. While she was well schooled, she lacked the knowledge and experience that life gave to Kuroko and his friends. She was naive and indifferent about the real things that took place outside of her mansion’s walls.

 

Kuroko’s group raised his awareness to the world that surrounded him. He was taught that vulnerability and empathy wasn’t the same as weakness. Those artists opened his eyes to new possibilities, they made him human again.

 

They were passionate about their work, using even the most common objects as their inspiration and turning them into masterpieces. Love and dedication to the world’s beauty – those two things were always present in the songs that Kuroko sung in the tavern.

 

His voice was engraved, imprinted in Akashi’s mind. Always clear and full of emotions. Kuroko had the rare ability to make even the toughest men cry with his ballads. At moments like that, he wasn’t only playing his lute. He was pulling at the strings of the crowd’s hearts.

 

_His melody was silenced because of you._

 

Akashi still hoped that to hear Kuroko’s crystal voice once again. To see his face after those years of separation. But he was also a realist. Why would Kuroko even want to remember someone that left him without a word of farewell?

 

_If he’s even alive, of course…_

 

The man bit his lip and shut his eyes. Thinking about Kuroko was always painful, especially when he was remembering all the happiness he felt while being with the young minstrel. It was good to imagine Kuroko’s soft touches and his vibrant and warm smile.

 

_You won’t see his smile again._

 

The doors to his office opened with a thud to reveal his wife. She was drowning in the creamy material of her dress, looking like a meringue – sickeningly sweet.

 

“Seijuurou, my dear. You haven’t even showed yourself at the party. Why are you hiding?” her fan opened loudly and she started to wave herself with the feathered accessory.

 

“I’m not feeling well.” he answered quickly, but his words was ignored as the mindless chatter of his wife filled the room. She always was a source of the newest rumors. Akashi scowled. The years of their marriage taught Akashi to tune out her excessive talking. Compared to her, Kise was a saint… Or at least a Carthusian monk.

 

Despite all the experience in ignoring her stream of words, something in his gut told him to pay attention to her. Akashi hated those irrational thoughts, they were eating him alive, leaving him uneasy. His intuition was the only thing he couldn’t accept in himself.

 

_Kuroko is dead…_

 

She kept talking about the series of brutal murders that took place in his hometown. His father’s fortune thawed like ice on a sunny day since the killer started his rampage seven years ago. That person had quite… peculiar tastes when it came to the methods of murder. He was only killing in the area surrounding the lake, leaving his female victims badly mutilated on the shore and males drowned.

 

“… at least there’s a very romantic side to all of the tragedy that happened in your father’s town. People say that the only survivors are those couples who are truly in love with each other! Isn’t this cute!? Maybe we should take the test, hmm? The ghost of the lake will surely spare us seeing our everlasting love, darling!”

 

Of course, she and her idiotic folk tales. Akashi knew that legends and myths were popular among the nobles these days, but to actually believe in rumors about pixies… Akashi snorted, humans were much more dangerous than ghosts. She came closer to his desk, but stopped when she saw the painting, scrunching her nose at the sight.

 

_Kuroko is dead._

 

 

He knew that listening to her wasn’t worth the time, he…

 

“I heard that at the full moon the ghost takes the form of a handsome young male with hair and eyes as blue as the sky itself.” She had a victorious smile on her face but Akashi’s was silenced in the midst of his thoughts. “It’s actually terrifying that someone so beautiful lures his victims with songs like a common minstrel…”

 

_Kuroko is dead!_

 

The voice which he was ignoring for so long finally screamed in his head. Was the fate playing a cruel joke on him? His brain processed everything he had heard up until this moment. The murders began right after he got married… After he left Tetsuya in the town. This couldn’t be true, no!

 

“Our love will survive the trials, right? Seijuurou? Seijuurou!?“

 

Akashi left the room without a word, throwing his expensive wedding ring away.

 

-////-

 

The path to the lake was deserted, as always. He remembered it very well, the lake was his and Kuroko’s favourite place to hide from Masaomi’s eyes. The small island in the middle gave them perfect protection. They spent many nights together under the branchlets of the weeping willow, watching stars and listening to the sounds of crickets only to fall asleep in each others arms.

 

Back then, they were both afraid of the older man’s wrath. Akashi knew very well that his father was a monster in human skin. How could he be so blind?

 

He was so stupid, oh so stupid. He should have known that the marriage was a trick. He should have eloped with Kuroko when they still had the chance! For seven yeas he was looking for Kuroko all over the country, overlooking the possibility that he had never left the town…

 

The thought of Kuroko being… Akashi swallowed a lump in his throat. Eggshells crunched under his feet and the trees near the shore were decorated with ribbons of various colours. Some were new, some older and already torn by the wind.

 

_The common folk was more intelligent than him._

 

Then, he heard it. The voice coming from the direction of the lake was singing a song so familiar and oh so painful that Akashi felt his heart clenching.

 

He wished to hear it once more, but not like this. Not in those circumstances. He was right, his intuition hadn’t fooled him. The fate played with his miserable life in the most cruel way.

 

Full moon shone brightly, illuminating the islet and the willow tree. There, on one of the thicker branches right above the water sat a young male brushing his long blue hair while humming a melody.

 

_The one that Kuroko was singing the day they both met._

 

“Tetsuya!?” pathetic scream left Akashi’s lips and the man on the tree turned around silencing his voice. Akashi’s heart beat against his chest rapidly, he was left completely breathless. Nothing changed in his appearance, Kuroko still had that boyish and cute face. Yet, he was different, more ethereal. His eyes were so blue they looked like ocean.

 

_Akashi could drown in them._

_**Wanted** to drown in them._

 

He jumped into the black depth of the water, splashing it around nosily, wanting to get to the smaller male so desperately that he ignored the temperature. The boy followed him, jumping into the lake, his hair spread out on the surface like peacock’s tail.

 

They hugged each other and Akashi let himself cry into Kuroko’s shoulder. He missed him so much…

 

After seven long and painful years, the lovers were finally together.

 

“Akashi-kun.” Kuroko spoke softly, wrapping his arms around Seijuurou’s neck. Flowery wreath on his head tickled Akashi’s face and he sneezed, making Kuroko chuckle.

 

Tetsuya was here, in his arms; breathing, speaking. Real… But he was also cold, too cold for Akashi’s liking and it wasn’t because of the temperature of the water. Akashi caressed the skin of Kuroko’s cheek, icy sparks went through his body when his pads touched the smooth skin.

 

The boy smiled lightly, nuzzling his face into Akashi’s palm. His eyes shone in the moonlight like diamonds, tears that welled in the corners were both those of relief and sadness. Cold hand grasped Akashi’s, holding it with almost titanic strength, scratching it with sharp and pointy nails.

 

They looked at each other in silence, drinking in their closeness. Akashi wished for this moment to last eternally.

 

_But it was impossible, wasn’t it?_

 

The question lingered unspoken in the chilly September air. Kuroko sighed, lowering his head and looking into the dark abyss of the lake for a little too long.

 

“You already know who I am, Akashi-kun. And who turned me into… _this._ ” Kuroko’s voice broke and with it, Akashi’s heart. He knew. He knew all along but his stubborn mind didn’t let him accept what his heart already felt.

 

_Kuroko Tetsuya was dead..._

 

_No power on earth could change that._

 

It was his fault, he was as guilty as his father. The most beautiful soul was forcefully ripped away from life’s embrace and turned into a demon – a drowner – because of his stupidity.

 

“I’m so sorry, Tetsuya. I should have protected you from him. It’s all my fault.” Hot tears streamed down Akashi’s cheeks. He shuddered violently when the wind hit him but his body was slowly getting warmer when he was in the water; he could last a little bit longer.

 

“You weren’t the one who killed me dummy,” Kuroko lifted his head, smiling reassuringly, slowly tracing Akashi’s lips with his fingers. “and with your arrival, my soul can finally rest. Now that you’ve found me, I’m no longer bound to this world.”

 

_No longer bound to him…_

 

Akashi thought and hugged the smaller male once again with all strength that was left in his trembling arms.

 

“Tetsuya, don’t leave me. Not now, no…” he whispered into Kuroko’s ear so silently that his voice drowned in the blazing wind. Akashi was confused. His body shook uncontrollably and even when he knew Kuroko was returning the gentle gesture, he felt nothing but pain.

 

“I won’t Akashi-kun…” the corners of Kuroko’s lips twitched upwards and his eyes shone with a dangerous glimmer. “You are coming with me.” with a quiet giggle he kissed the red haired man and pulled him under the water. Kuroko’s lips were ice cold, sharp talons were digging into Akashi’s shoulders but the man stopped to care.

 

He smiled, feeling the last familial touch.

 

_They were finally together._

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo... I hope you liked this little fic. 
> 
> If someone is not familiar with Slavic religion and beasts/magic creatures, I'm going to clarify some things.
> 
> First of all, I'm sorry for using the term 'drowner' for Kuroko, but the name of the demon sounded... off here, so I decided to leave it be.
> 
> Kuroko became something called Rusałka or Wodnica (Nixie in Germanic folklore) - a water nymph, often associated with unclean spirits. Wodnica is a soul of a young female (usually a virgin) that died near/in the water (either by committing suicide or being killed by someone). The soul's sole purpose was to lure men into the depths of the water to drown them. Other methods of killing include tickling to death or dancing with people until they die from exhaustion. 
> 
> If you have any other question, feel free to ask!


End file.
